This month’s cuts leave a list of key cultural sites, backpacking routes and canyons outside the boundaries of national monuments, potentially leaving them vulnerable to drilling and mining.
A map created by The Wilderness Society showing cuts in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. (Photo: The Wilderness Society)
Updated July 15, 2026 02:30 pm
Newly released maps of this week’s massive reductions in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante are shedding light on exactly what the White House proclamation has stripped from national monuments, revealing that many popular backpacking routes, canyons and cultural sites are now off-limits and could be vulnerable to drilling and mining.
Both the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and The Wilderness Society (TWS) released nearly identical maps showing the new boundaries of the monuments. The cuts shown on the maps represent massive reductions that are larger than the administration’s previous cuts in 2017. While Bears Ears’ southern shhh unit After the Trump administration’s 91 percent cuts, Northern appears to be largely unchanged. Indian Creek Unit significantly smaller, covering about one fifth of the former land area. Five small exclaves scattered around the former area of the monument protect other sites, including indigenous structures such as the Moon House and Citadel and Rig Canyon, the site of early oil exploration in the area.
The cut at Grand Staircase-Escalante is equally extensive. While the 2017 order halved the size of the monument, this month’s changes reduced it by 90 percent, reducing it to a contiguous section in the northeast, called the Escalante Canyon Unit, and three smaller areas in the center and south of the monument, collectively named the Kaipirowitz Horizon Unit.
SUWA Legal Director Steve Bloch said backpacker that reductions “depleted” the monuments, and the administration indicated that its intention was to manage what remained primarily for grazing, off-road vehicles, and resource extraction.
“It’s a very dystopian take on what a national monument could be.” Baloch said. “And the lands excluded include some of the most notable features of our nation’s public lands system.”
SUWA spokesperson Grant Stevens said his organization received a copy of the map showing the extent of the cuts from the White House press office through a member of the media and digitized it; TWS spokesperson Chelsea Moy said backpacker The nonprofit did the same with a BLM map of the proposed changes. Although the White House has not yet released official mapping data of the monument’s new boundaries, maps from the two organizations appear to match An interactive map of deductions shared by the state of Utah.
Another thing that is obviously left out of the monuments: the region’s richest potential mineral deposits. A 2018 map of active mining claims in Bears Ears from the Grand Canyon Trust indicating that the vast majority are now outside the boundaries of the monument. If the proclamation is upheld, the excluded acres could be opened to mining and other uses in as little as 60 days.
While proponents of the reduction argue that the excluded scenarios still enjoy adequate protection, Bloch disagrees.
“Having national monument protection really means a lot to these places,” he said. “This is the guiding post that the BLM must follow to prioritize the protection of those monuments, cultural sites, fossils, etc.” Without those protections, those natural and cultural resources are “lost in the shuffle,” Bloch says.
Here are some of the highlights of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante now beyond its new boundaries.
bear ears
fish valley
A deep canyon featuring rock-hewn arches and spiers, Fish Canyon is often backpacked as part of a 16-mile loop with nearby Owl Canyon.
Grand Gulch
Stretching 52 miles through Cedar Mesa, Grand Gulch is home to abundant rock art and Ancestral Puebloan dwellings, serves as a kind of open-air museum for backpackers who tackle sections of it, and serves as important heritage for the tribes who call the area home.
valley of the gods
Often compared to Monument Valley, the wide expanse of the Valley of the Gods provides sweeping views of craggy sandstone crags and towers. It is a popular spot for tourists to camp out and see the views along the way.
Cheesebox Canyon
This remote slot is a prized objective for canyoneers. Successfully crossing it involves careful navigation, climbing down ravines and swimming in cold craters.
Dark Canyon Wilderness Study Area
Dark Canyon is a complex of slickrock canyons located in the shadow of the surrounding mesa. Hikers can visit it on a rugged, 40-mile backpacking loop, with side excursions that can easily double that distance.
Grand Staircase-Escalante
Peek-a-Boo Canyon and Spooky Gulch
Sharing a name with another slot in Kanab, Utah, Peek-a-Boo Canyon is a remote, sculptured slot that canyoneers often combine with neighboring Spooky Gulch in the same trip.
Coyote Gulch
A common inclusion on lists of the Southwest’s most stunning hikes, Coyote Gulch straddles the border of Grand Staircase-Escalante and the neighboring Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Despite being remote, it is a relatively moderate hike, and it allows hikers to enjoy views of towering sandstone walls, arches, and the occasional waterfall.
Bull Valley Gorge
Located at the far western end of the Grand Staircase, this slot canyon has an unusual feature: the remains of an ancient jeep are hidden deep within its sandstone walls.
